~ My thoughts in my words

Monthly Archives: January 2009

It was really shocking to see the mindset of the self appointed guardians of the society calling on themselves to chastise the society by means of physical abuse. Even more shocking is the way the faction uses the name of God to validate their vagaries.The recent Mangalore mayhem reflects a society torn between the rustic and conservative past and a raring to go present. While the presence of a pub in a place like Mangalore tells that even smaller towns are not left behind, the students find themselves looking for ways to express themselves, enjoying every bit of modern life. The debate between should have or should not have pubs will never end, even though junior Bachchan gives a different idea of democracy. But what’s important is that is it the right way to validate their viewpoint, in the name of God? It is evident that the incident was deliberately caused so that the political party can get some cognizance. And it has worked. There have been millions of google hits searching for the Ram Sena. Even historians might not have researched so much.

That’s it! They got media attention, and if democracy permits, will get a few votes as well. It doesn’t matter that the attacks are grossly illegal, the ideologies staunch and overbearing, but it gives them the right to cause the mayhem and destruction, akin to MNS’s attacks against North Indians in Maharashtra. Has it opened a new way to make a party’s presence felt, because the judiciary is ineffective to punish the offenders? Or is it that being behind the bars is a way of life, and only adds to the popularity?

The general elections are close, and the country’s educated lot normally doesn’t care to vote. The world’s biggest democracy is just making a mockery of the very ideology on which the constitution has been established!

It wasn’t an Alto that accompanied me; rather it was a Wagon R. Puneet was glad to leave his car for me, and I lost no opportunity to grab it and drive all around. Back from Bharuch on Friday evening, I was looking forward for this ‘different’ weekend.

After getting the car from his place at Kandivli (which is a good 17km from mine), a thought came to me that I could use the time to take a drive of the famous western express highway. Starting from one end at Bandra, I drove along the road (after crossing two newly inaugurated flyovers) to reach Borivali and then Dahisar. My instinct didn’t stop me from paying the toll fee at the over crowded Dahisar Naka, as I breezed out to NH8. it was another wish fulfilled. I took some 10km on the highway, and decided to return, citing reasons of time and fuel expense. Travel for the day: 100km.

My Sunday began very early when I packed my washable clothes and the regular stuff for my trip to pune. I left at 5:20 from Santacruz, and was at Vashi by 5:45. it was only after I hit the Mumbai Pune expressway when I realized that I was too early, and would rather slow down, else would be at my Guptas’ place at an unearthly hour! It didn’t look so wonderful at that time, but every vehicle was doing over 100. I was the overtaken all the time, and stuck to the leftmost lane. I had a lot of time to spend, and utilized some of it at the overpriced Food Mall (which incidentally had very few travelers).

It was dawn by the time I left the food mall. The ghats had begun by then, and the sight was mesmerizing. I wished I could stop and take some photos. But the constant traffic flow and the instructions didn’t allow any such opportunity. Some twists and turns later, I was back on straight roads, the hoardings told me that I was nearing my destination. It didn’t take much time to reach their place at Pimpri; I had landed at 8:30.

But that wasn’t all. In the evening, we joined the Mulkalwars to visit Chokhi Dhani, which is apparently a Rajasthani setup that also includes food. It was a mela of sorts, but the number of zealous people entering the mela was just too much for us to try it out. We went back to Koregaon Park, and hit upon Barbeque nation. It had the same menu as the one at Khar, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. To justify the charges, one needs to have the right kind of appetite. The Guptas, with their limited capability, could only do so much! I had the company of Annu and Sayali in this matter.

From Koregaon park, we went around Baner and then the NH4, the Pune Bangalore highway. The oldies on FM only added to the wonderful feeling. Some good drive later, we were back at GGR for the night! The usual bakar ensued, and we retired by 2:30.

the republic day morning started with patriotic songs sneaking into GGR. It seems the society’s function didn’t have enough participants, so this was a way to wake people up from the deep slumber. We had Dems’ cooked Poha with Bingo snacks, and then went to ASR to drop the Mulkalwars.

Touching a 100

On the return trip, the NH-4 felt better than the expressway. The car glided with minimum effort, making me anxious of the two-wheeler and pedestrian traffic. But the road soon gave way to the expressway, and the fun began. How can one call the road boring? It is one of the most interesting drives I’ve ever had. I was doing some 80-90 on the leftmost lane with all cars overtaking me from the right. Then Robert Miles started, and I found myself making for lost ground. I overtook a lot of cars at 130, then again slowed down to keep the sanity (The twists and turns on the lonavala ghats are too dangerous to go beyond 60). Two tolls later, I was at Navi Mumbai crossing Panvel, Belapur, Kharghar, Nerul, Sanpada and Vashi. In my flow, I missed a turn at Chembur and found myself in Chembur colony looking for the way out. The way to Sion didn’t seem to be too easy. A couple of turns later, I was the Easter express highway wishing to turn for Sion. But in my speed, I took the flyover, and was soon at Matunga and then Dadar. I had no intention to reach CST without any reason, so turned back at Dadar TT and went northwards till I found the left turn for Sion. The rest of the route from Sion to Bandra and back to Santacruz was easy to judge, they aren’t new for me.

The total trip was of some 432 km, and my estimate of FE is around 17 kmpl (without AC). Before leaving, I was wondering if I am doing right by taking such a journey all alone..but at the end of it, all’s well that ends well. And most importantly, I am thrilled!!

The prospect of travel has thrilled me ever since I remember. If you know me, you know my passion for travel, under all circumstances. Travel gives me a kick, since it adds new experiences, it thrills me to no end, and it gives me stories to write (or blog about). And team-bhp only adds to my zeal.A sponsored travel is always welcome, even if it is in this obscure place of Bharuch. It does not matter much where or how I stay, as long as it is in transition and I do not have to bear with it for long. And I always wanted to have an all India trip by road (with self and a few co-drivers), which appears practical every passing day. As a preparatory measure, I need to get a feel of driving long. Sadly, that hasn’t happened much recently, thanks to my deciding to move to Mumbai leaving my car back home 😦

While browsing through the travelogues in team-bhp forum, I came across a very interesting link. This guy asks you to invite him to your place, so that everyone can have some adventure, and be happy about it. But the question that pops up is: in this day of evil (read: terrorism) playing mockery of the administrative system, can we get as philanthropic as we would like to believe? Probably not.

Over the next extended weekend, if I manage to get a car, I intend to drive down to Pune taking the expressway. Hope to have a rocking weekend!

I used to be awed at people travelling places to meet people, to deliver discourses (or gyan of sorts), make decisions, close deals et al. And since I was restricted to offshore, I felt alienated from the real work. And so a struggle ensued for a while. I wanted to feel the real thing.My current assignment took me to places, that covers the most obscure of towns and villages, where the factories are established, where a lot of back end activity takes place. I also got to know of people, their attitudes and how different they are when compared to the urban corporate. I have always loved meetings, for they disclose more than what people want to. While I was used to decisions being taken during such gatherings, the situation was so very different. People can start at one topic, and this continues in a new direction. It is as if the company promotes creativity, and clash of ideas. Unfortunately, 90% of these are out of context, and hence the meeting goes uncontrolled, resulting in little outcome.

The key to conducting effective meetings is to have an agenda in place, and a leader (or a moderator) to control the direction. As with a ship, this captain needs to make sure random signals are stubbed at that level. This is something strongly lacking in such situations. There is no scheduled time, place or agenda for meetings, and they can use meetings to chit chat, have fun with the idea of “baad mein dekhenge”. The time never comes, and everybody runs for a quickfix.

The key is to have the leadership of certain individuals who can appreciate good ideas, while stifling the bad ones. I have been trying to do this with a fair amount of success. The real world isn’t that alien any more. I may not be closing deals yet, that should follow soon.

High doses of energy have permeated into my cells, making me zealous of the most tortuous of activities. While Bharuch has lost its charm (inspite of the allowance that accompanies the trip), it gives me a new perspective of things; do things in my own manner, and do whatever I want without instructions from anybody.

This morning I took the Shatabdi to reach Bharuch on time, but there was no vehicle to pick us up. The ordeal of wait lasted for over an hour before an Indica took us to the familiar environs of the factory. It is my sixth visit, and I am quite at ease. Long hours of complicated explanations later, I now have the time to get online, check my emails and blog.

What was it that gave me the newfound energy? Was it the weekend break or was it something else? Irrespectiveof what it is, I am planning to have some good chicken tonight in the company of my chicken partners!

Another weekend is passing, this time in a better manner. the good part was that there was no work, and I did not even log on to SAP or check my official emails. Its midway through the first month of 2009, and I don’t have a lot of time left in this project. I have known what it is to get a release, but I hope things will better off this time, there isn’t so much bureaucracy that I am familiar with.The next week will be spent (yet again) in the obscure and dusty town of Bharuch. My objective is to clarify all the issues they have, and these will keep creeping in however, one may try to cover them up.

I bought the book ‘Aparajito’ translated in English. Just wanted some fiction, and it should be good to read up on the erstwhile situation in Bengal.

A strange kind of sadness has enveloped me recently. However I might try to attribute the reasons of my sadness to others, the reason is within me. And I am the one who can rectify things.

The reason: unabated work that has engulfed my life and but me in the middle of doldrums, while I try to make sense of where I am going. When I meet my friends so contented with life, yet going forward, I am left with utter amazement. What is it that I lack? What is it that will spring me back to life?

The work is hectic as usual, but the more difficult part is that I feel too tired to do anything else.
Today was Makar Sankranti, and there was nothing that could notify me about it. The first thing I got to know is that the factory in Gujarat was closed, and so there would be no problems today. Good news, but the Mumbai office wouldn’t spare me.

One solution I got was to indulge in some retail therapy (like I had done sometime back, check this post), and I found a good pair of Woodlands at the store at Linking Road, Bandra. Somehow it gave me a kind of happiness I had felt when I was a kid. Does the kid live still? You bet it does.

I came across this term while reading Paulo Coehlo‘s classic ‘The alchemist‘ This book has popular because of the famous ideology: that when one wants something strongly enough, the universe conspires to fulfill it. Much has been discussed (and expressed in Bollywood) on this topic, my thought is on the concept of maktub, which means ‘It is written’.

I watched Slumdog Millionaire last weekend, and found an interesting connection between its theme and the ideology in the book. The Hollywood movie is about a lad brought up in a slum, was ‘Born to lose, destined to win’. He happened to know the answers to every question thrown at him. He did not know them by reading tomes of GK, but by being at the ‘right place at the right time’. He would

probably not have known the answers if something else would have been asked. There is a small probability of everything, however small it might be. Taking a day to day example, I might leave 5 minutes late for office, but if my bus is also late, it is destiny.

We get closer to our destiny every moment. The fact that I am trying to understand the concept of destiny is also ‘written’. The hindu mythology talks about ‘bhagya’ and that the palm and forehead lines can trace

the path of life. We human beings are always curious about (and fearful of) the future and so astrology is a thriving business! We look at the planetary aspects for ‘muhurat’ before starting anything big, often to the extent of being exceedingly maniacal. Discounting such aspects is a matter of one’s belief, because there is no control scenario (what would have happened if I did not do that). We take decisions every waking moment (and sometimes while sleeping as well)and the effects of our decisions change lives. There is not turning back.

The book talks about the omens and the inner calling, and one should not ignore them. One gets to know the future because God wants us to change it. I liked this concept, since it talks about endeavoring to control situations, rather than letting things happen their own way.

I am reading the book for the second time; I will also watch the movie again. Because this is a concept that has thrilled me a lot!

In management parlance, the above term signifies the situation where your customer is satisfied not by something he expects, but by what he does not expect, but would like to have nevertheless. It acts as a differentiating factor in the competition among the also-rans.

I learnt this concept in my first job some 6 years ago. It looked viable and an interesting thought and I have tried to implement it in all client interactions. The idea looked good to me, and I looked good to the client. This was good all these years, and I believed it was the de facto rule for being appreciated.

My recent experiences have thrown a new light: the customer may not be happy even though you try to delight them. And it does not point at an individual, but the whole gang may not be looking the way you do. And why so? Because they want more for less. The concept of “more car per car” ran very well in India. That was because we Indians want to extract the drop of juice from the sugarcane. It is no different in my endeavors to serve my client. When I realized they were unable to make an as is process document, I made it for them. That was to act as an example, but the message they got was that I am supposed to do it, and hence they had the right to ask for it all over.

If I do a task fast, they raise the bar and expect me to do it faster. It even goes to the extent that they start making unreasonable demand in the light of an earlier swift response. If I do and set a configuration in an hour, they want a development done in 10 minutes. They act as if they have the wherewithal to do it themselves, and so ask for more..and more.

Among all this, where does customer satisfaction lie? That is a concept alien to the Indian client, especially one that deals with age old practices. So the best way to handle this is to communicate (in a loud voice) that “I can do it, but wont do it for you”. That will accentuate one’s importance, and never strive to provide a customer delight. The concept is reserved for some corporate offices, but not for factories.

That was the scene last afternoon when I went to the factory canteen to extinguish my pangs of hunger at around 1:30. I knew it was late by their standards, but what I found there dazed me. A change in their standard operating procedure required a slip to be given since we were guests at the client’s factory premises. Upon producing the same, we were told that contract laborers had their place on the other side of the canteen. Did we appear workers to him? (I know we are, but not in their context) Or he was too busy to read the contents of the slip (or perhaps wasn’t adequately literate) to make such an insidious remark? I was out of my wits while my colleague tried to chide the fellow for appearing too lax.

Okay, we got permission (and plates) for the buffet lunch (which could be compared to the one I got during my hostel days) and I made my way to an empty end of the table. I was strongly told not to sit there. Upon asking the reason, the worker promptly said “Garg jee aa rahe hain?”

So the truth had come out. It was the veritable president who preferred being revered by people touching his feet every time he came in the open. And everyone seemed to be scared to the core, for they wondered what flaw would cause a rebuke. And the president was well known for his penchant for perfection, while the people were painfully aware of their own lack of it.

When it was time for the dictator to arrive, there was full attention. The remaining tables were promptly emptied and I realized that the managers would get an opportunity to taste the canteen food with the big boss (whom we call as ‘paye lagu”), probably one of a lifetime.

That was my experience of sycophancy that still exists in Indian companies. It did not matter that the people were hired (or bought) at hefty salaries, they still had to show respect in every possible way. And while my manager once commented “the company does not work on whims and fancies of one person”, I could see his words of wisdom going naught. In one of his actions, all the requirements of a purchase order print layout proposed by the core team (who, after all should be taking the decisions) was vetoed by the veteran. It has resulted in weeks of work going waste. It is yet to be realized the cause of such a change of heart.

There is so much to see when one visits places. I wasn’t there to give a solution to the age old practice, but it surely amused me enough to put in my blog!